


death, told in little touches

by sybilius



Series: graveyard harlequins [2]
Category: Helvetica (Webcomic)
Genre: Characters Writing Fanfiction, Dinner, F/M, First Time, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Romantic Fluff, Skeletons, Threesome - F/M/M, Very little resemblance to human sex, non genital focused sex, oh yes i went there, probably good to read for people with anxieties surrounding sex, this is actually less horny than you think it is, this is skeletons boning: the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-27 21:42:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16710562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sybilius/pseuds/sybilius
Summary: Helvetica invites his partners over for a romantic dinner. Turns out, there are things about death that none of them have quite figured out yet.





	death, told in little touches

**Author's Note:**

> You know, I thought the spiderbat porno was the weirdest sex I'd write, but no, I had to have headcanons for how skeletons would bone, and all it took was one (1) person asking about them before I was like “lmao fuck I'm going to write this aren't I”.
> 
> Anyways the working title for this fic was “bones boning”. Lol. 
> 
> I digress, despite the inherent weirdness of this, the premise of “sex without bodies” was actually quite compelling to me, nice to do something that literally cannot be genital focused. It is also lovely for me to get to write fluffy polyamory stories :’) 
> 
> So, hope you enjoy it, as always I love to hear what people thought!
> 
> P.S. j n. Wiedle if you're reading this….well I was gonna say “sorry” but I'm somewhere between that and ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The pot of basil grew readily in the window that looked out over the city of the dead. It sprouted strong and green in spite of the arid, dusty landscape, its tiny white flowers a testament to its caretaker's attentions.

Helvetica picked a leaf carefully, almost  _ feeling _ the taste of it in his fingertips. The fact that the dead could eat was strange enough. Just over a year in Death Valley and there was so much he still didn't understand.

He blushed, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. His partners-- they'd adopted that word just a few days ago-- were coming for dinner tonight, and he had a nice chicken and basil pasta to prepare. He sliced the basil into chiffonade, taking a moment to stir the marinara sauce in the pot. It had been almost two weeks since the Yuletide soiree, since Autumn had put two and two and one more together and unraveled the knotted case of all their feelings.

Since then, things had been good. Very good, even. They'd gone to see a detective flick together, Autumn showed Helvetica some of her manuscripts like always, Lucy took him to a strange pub on the other side of town that seemed to be one of his favorites and they argued about life and death for hours…it was everything they'd always been together, except with the occasional squeeze to the hand, watching them more carefully, a sweet kiss with a rush of overwhelming emotions.

Still, no one had done much more than kiss-- yet.

Helvetica started slightly at the knock to the door, gathering up the basil and throwing it into the sauce.

“Coming!”

He opened the door to Autumn's smiling face. She was wearing a dress for once, pale purple and with thin straps. Lucy was behind her, their fingers laced together. He looked, as usual, like he'd come from his detective's office. But the circles under his eyes had gotten better.

“I’m so happy you're both here,” he smiled, hoping that the glow in his chest came through on his face. Autumn kissed him first, quick and sparking, with the taste of strawberry lipstick. Lucy kissed softly, almost disbelieving and with the ghost of clove cigarette on his mouth as always.

Helvetica loved sifting through the specifics of what made them different and special, what made them  _ them. _

“Smells fantastic, 'Vet,” Lucy shrugged off his trenchcoat, “From your plant? Must be growing well.”

Helvetica smiled softly. Lucy really had a detective's eye for details.

“Yes. It's lovely of you to remember.”

Lucy blushed. He blushed surprisingly easily, despite his hardboiled facade, which Helvetica had always found terribly endearing. Even before he could kiss him on the cheek for it, to Autumn's squeal.

“You two are so cute I could die again! Oh and, 'Vetica...the table looks fantastic,” she brushed her hand next to the candles he'd set out, tall and white amid the place settings, “A special evening, hmm?”

“Says the girl in the special purple dress,” he teased gently, “You look gorgeous, by the way.”

“I like the new tie,” Autumn touched the bright blue linen Helvetica had bought for himself once he'd decided his style was a little more dressed down than Good Heavens and Mme. Herringbone would have him believe.

“You two both look amazing, and I sure as hell should have thought to wear something other than the same damn work clothes,” Lucy had his usual disaffected drawl, but Helvetica gave him a quick look in the eye to check if he seemed distant. It was hard to tell, but he did take a seat without hesitation when Helvetica pulled out a chair and gestured very deliberately to him, doing the same for Autumn a minute later.

Of the three of them, Autumn had fallen in the most easily to asking for what she needed, practically jumping into one of their laps when she was in the mood for it. Lucy was more tentative, still hanging back and sometimes watching them with that sad smile of his. Helvetica had to keep an eye on him to make sure it was clear that he was just as important as Autumn.

And Helvetica? Well, for now he just wanted everyone to be happy.

“Oh, that does look marvelous,” Autumn admired the pasta when Helvetica brought it out, taking a generous spoonful.

“Tastes just as good as it looks,” Lucy said after a nibble at the penne.

“Thanks, both of you,” he took a careful bite himself, pleased with the undertone of basil, “So how’s that case going, Lucy?”

“Oh, like a hearse driver in a spring thunderstorm, you know,” Lucy gestured vaguely.

“I don't know,” Helvetica laughed a little, “But it's alright if you don't want to talk about it. I just like knowing what you're up to.”

“That's fair, I'm ...still getting used to that,” Lucy admitted, “So you remember it's a missing persons case?”

“Yeah, the pizza shop owner's wife?”

“Pretty sure I've got it cracked. Just waiting for contacts from Necropolis to get me a sighting. I'll call when I have to drive up there.”

“So she  _ did _ run away with that con artist? You could have told me I was right!” Autumn glared at him half-jokingly over her glass.

“Well, I don't fully know myself yet, but...like I said, pretty sure. Sure as a straight flush, but why reveal my hand?” he slipped into his usual drawl, smiling sidelong at Autumn, “You like figuring it out, don't you?”

“Oh. Well. Yes, I guess so.”

“I can tell you next time when we're on the same page,” he relented, leaning back in to touch her hand.

“Alright! You know how I like it when you stay mysterious too,” she grinned.

He nodded, “And you're the perfect foil to that, sweetheart.”

“You know, I think your metaphors have been getting more colorful,” Helvetica ruminated fondly, tucking his ankle next to Lucy's under the table.

“That must be from reading her manuscripts then.”

Autumn grinned delightedly, not at all shy, “Well, if it makes you any less corny, Mister…”

Helvetica smiled to himself, a soft warmth growing in his chest. It was funny how nice it was to see them becoming enmeshed, happier together. Autumn asked after his work at the library after that, and he regaled them with much less exciting stories about their latest shipment of a popular romance novel.

As they finished up with dinner, Autumn and Lucy traded banter that almost could have been from the dialogue of the novel. Helvetica cleared their plates, enjoying it, but feeling a little out of his depth. He was good at observing when either of them was hanging back, asking how they were feeling and bringing them back into the moment. But when it came to flirting --

“Hey, ‘Vet, thanks for making dinner.”   
  
He stopped short, Lucy’s arm suddenly around his chest, hugging him from behind. He smiled, both nervous and reassured at once. Lucy's breath was next to his ear, the soft heat of it sparking all the way down his bones.

“Thank  _ you _ for coming,” he turned around in Lucy's grip, taking Lucy's face between his hands and kissing carefully. It was gentle at first, but Lucy had a way of kissing that just got away from them, the memory of lips intensifying to the warm touch of tongue, the ghosts of sensation spreading out over his skull.

Kissing after death was barely something Helvetica thought would be possible. Never mind something that would make him feel almost  _ alive _ . He pulled back as Lucy kissed his neck, a little breathless. He knew where this was going, but  _ how would this go _ \--

“You two!” Autumn exclaimed, and they broke apart a little sheepishly, “No, no don't stop but -- bedroom,  _ now." _

Okay, okay this was all happening a little bit... _ now.  _ Helvetica flinched with something between nervousness and pleasure as Autumn cupped the bone of his pelvis behind him. When he got his bearings in the bedroom, Autumn was wrapped around Lucy, kissing him passionately. They both had been dead so much longer than him. He swallowed his pride, knowing that he had to say  _ something _ \--

“Um. Um, not that I don't want this very  _ very _ much, but--”

“You okay, Vet?” Lucy broke off from Autumn, giving him a look so concerned that Helvetica almost winced.

“Yeah, I'm just -- um, I've never had sex before… well, that is, after I died,” Helvetica sat down on the end of the bed, scratching the back of his head, “I don't even know if I did it when I was alive.”

“We uh, don't have to do this right now,” Lucy pulled away from Autumn to her slight pout. Both of them sat next to him on either side.

“No, I want to just…” he gestured vaguely, “I only vaguely know how it works. The romance novels in the library sort of gloss over the details. And even then… it's always couples, right?”

“Yeah. I getcha,” Lucy nudged him playfully with his head

“Want me to tell you guys what to do?” Autumn hopped up on her knees, “It's not like I haven't imagined it, oh, about 100 times.”

Helvetica blushed readily then, sidelong glancing at Lucy, “Mm, okay, that sounds doable.”

Lucy shook his head indulgently, “Alright, you tell the story, sweetheart.”

“Lucy, you're good at romance. Put your hand on Helvetica's cheek, that's right,” she sighed, almost close to Helvetica's ear, “Now kiss him again, slowly like you did in the kitchen.”

Lucy leaned in, his finger caressing the edges of Helvetica's cheekbones. There was something more calming, a little less raw in the way Lucy kissed him this time. Tentatively, Helvetica put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer by the lapels.

“Oh, that's nice, Vetica,” Autumn hummed approvingly, “Kiss his neck maybe? Yes, soft like that.”

The strangest thing about kissing after death was the tantalizing absence of physical form. Helvetica could neither see nor touch anything but the space between Lucy's skull and his collarbones, yet he could  _ feel  _ Lucy shiver under the sensation of what was once lips.

“Unbutton his shirt, one by one,” Autumn watched him carefully, flushed and biting her lip. Helvetica uncurled his fingers and softly touched the center of Lucy's sternum, watching the way his eyes fluttered shut. Autumn drew in a breath, “You feel the memory of his heartbeat.”

He almost did, splaying his fingers across the right side of Lucy's ribcage. Lucy shrugged off the soft green shirt, letting Helvetica's fingers dance along the edges of his collarbones.

“Lucy, take off his tie. Move closer, the heat of skin almost between you,” Autumn's voice was husky. Lucy's fingers were deft as he undid the bow tie, his smile careful and reassuring.

“As you come closer, you feel your cock stirring in the depths of your pants. This is what it is to feel alive,” Autumn's voice had an almost theatrical quality now. Helvetica admittedly didn't feel very much around his pelvis, but he moved closer to Lucy nonetheless.

“Helvetica, put your hand on his crotch. Feel his  _ arousal _ there. The memory of it.”

He caught Lucy's eye, who also seemed similarly-- a little confused. That was reassuring in its own way. He jerked his head, and luckily Lucy found something to say before he did.

“Uhm, sorry to say I don't -- exactly get much of a memory of what having a dick was like,” Lucy pulled back, a little embarrassed.

“Oh --uhm. Really? Nothing at all?” she stuttered a little, “I just must be doing it wrong, I--”

“No, no, sweetlips, that's just not how it goes-- I mean, for me,” Lucy shrugged.

“Me too,” Helvetica admitted, “I mean, right now.”

“Okay, um. Confession,” Autumn blushed, looking down at the covers, “I might have only written about this…theoretically. Though I did write a lot, so!”

Lucy paused, blinking at Autumn, “You've never had sex before this?”

“I mean, not while I'm dead!” she said, balling the covers up on her fingers. Then she mumbled, “I...I was saving it.”

“Jesus. Both of you? I mean, I've  _ had _ sex after death but I don't think any of it has been that good,” Lucy hunched over his knees, looking lost. They all were, weren't they?

Helvetica sat back on his hands on the bed, “Well, it makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one who barely knows what they're doing at this.”

Lucy snorted derisively, and then Autumn giggled, and before Helvetica knew it, he was laughing too. Death was a hell of a thing. He could have sworn at one point when he was alive he'd wished life had come with a manual. Guess that didn't get any better. 

But really, it wasn't all that bad.

Lucy straightened up, “Okay, I don't know a whole hell of a lot, but I might be able to try what I do know.”

He leaned across the bed, outstretching a finger to trace the strap that had fallen down on her shoulder. He met her eyes, “Not to be presumptuous, but-- there someone you were saving yourself for?”

Autumn made a sound somewhere between a scoff and a squeak, keeping her eyes on Lucy.

“Someones, maybe.”

“Let me have your hand,” Lucy takes it and turns it over, the intricate details of her metacarpals fascinating to Helvetica, “So I'm guessing you've got the idea that anywhere there used to be a lot of nerves is fair game, right?”

He brushed his thumb over her wrist. She shivered right along the space where her spine would have been, “Y-yes.”

Lucy smiled, almost smug, “Here, Vet, touch her softly. Just like that.”

Autumn breathed out slowly as Helvetica brushed her wrist with his fingertips. It sent a shiver through him too-- the bones were almost soft. He took her wrist from Lucy, brought it gently too his lips.

“That's good,” Lucy said, momentarily distracted. Then he dragged one finger along Autumn's collarbone, trailing with his mouth. Helvetica watched him tug down her other strap, heard the unzipping of her dress, “There’s a lot of places on the body where there's a hell of a lot to feel. Some of them might have a bit of a memory to them.”

At this he brushed his hand over her ribcage, fingers tented around where her breast would have rested. Autumn sighed, squeezing Helvetica's fingers.

“But there's benefits to being dead. Places you couldn't get to before,” Lucy’s fingers slip  _ under _ her ribcage, and her eyes shock open with her gasp, “Finding places that bring out pleasure-- it's a lot like finding the places that would kill you if you got hurt there.”

“God-- Lucy, you're s-so dramatic,” Autumn's tease would have been more effective he she wasn't gasping for breath, even leaning against the pillows of Helvetica's bed.

“Probably the only time when it's worth it,” he smirked, self-deprecating as ever, “Here, Vet.”

He took Helvetica's hand, his other hand still making feather-light touches in the space behind Autumn's heart, and guided his fingers to the back of her pelvis, touching the upper edges of it.

“The spine?” Helvetica brushed the space where her spine would have been, remembering suddenly that the spine was an extension of the brain. Her breath hitched.

“You're getting it.”

“Fuck, are you  _ ever _ ,” Autumn made a low keening noise in the back of her throat. Helvetica grinned, slipping her dress further down her and kissing the light from the blinds of the bedroom on the edge of her collarbone.

“Yeah, you're doing so good, Autumn. You look gorgeous,” Lucy brushed her cheek with his other hand, taking in her wide eyes. It was so intimate and honest it took Helvetica's breath away.

“Lucy, I-- fuck,” she squeezed her eyes shut, gasping out-- Helvetica had found an inside corner of her bones that he circled with his finger, and she writhed again, “Fuck, Vetica, it's so much.”

“Hang in there, cupcake,” Lucy kissed her forehead and jerked his head to Helvetica. Helvetica watched him press in to the inside edge of her collarbone, tracing it as she went rigid and moaned in their embrace. She went limp, shivering as Lucy withdrew his hand.

“Wow,” she managed, collapsing slightly into Helvetica's arm. Lucy laughed gently.

“I'll say.”

“Okay, that was  _ amazing _ . I can't believe I waited my entire death for that,” her eyes were bright and  _ alive _ , Helvetica would almost say. He stroked the side of her face, at once happy that they were in the familiar space of his bed, his apartment.

“Okay, okay, now who next?”

“I want to try what I learned on Lucy,” Helvetica declared, almost surprising himself.

“Well, alright then,” Lucy cocked his head from where he was reclined on the bed, surprised as ever to be the subject of attention. Helvetica took his face in both hands, kissing him thoroughly. When he trailed his fingers down Lucy's neck, Helvetica could feel him twitch like an electric shock.

“Sensitive.”

Lucy blushed, “What, are you looking to show me how it's done?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” he let his hands work open Lucy's belt, “You were marvelous.”

“Then wh-- fuck, Autumn,” Lucy gasped. Autumn had slipped her whole hand where Lucy's heart would be, palm splayed open on the inside of his chest.

“Too much?” her wicked smile faltered. He grabbed her wrist, shaking his head.

“Don't stop. Hell. I always knew you'd --”

“Go for the heart? Steal it like a proper dame?” she leaned in close, sparing a wink to Helvetica.

“Shit. L-like the trouble that you are.”

She chuckled, dark, smoky and theatrical, “You're so  _ easy _ sometimes.”

Helvetica had to admit their roleplay did have appeal. Autumn's lipstick curving upwards, Lucy's eyes languid and lidded. He traced the edges of Lucy's pelvis with his mouth, where his legs met carefully, grinning back at Autumn above him.

“Wh-what was it you were gonna say?” Lucy asked, suddenly finding a breath.

“I think,” Helvetica's breath caught in his own throat. Though no one was touching him, all his bones felt electrically charged under Lucy's intense gaze, “I want to see you let go a little. I think you don't do that enough.”

“Fuck, I-- yeah,” Lucy gripped Autumn's arm with his other hand, just as Helvetica brought his face closer.

“We've got you, Lucy,” Autumn said softly, and Helvetica caught his raw gasp in a kiss as shudders wracked his body. They both held him as he found his breath again, still shaking in the aftermath. Helvetica felt a little shaky himself.

“I-- god, I had no idea sex after death could be that good. Hell, I bet it was never this good when I was alive,” he squeezed both of them tightly, sending little shocks down to Helvetica's feet. The three of them breathed a moment, Helvetica flexing his toes experimentally. Trying to calm down and yet--- not wanting to at all. He pulled away, sitting back against the covers and leaving Helvetica to study the both of them from where he sat on the middle of the bed.

“It didn't take you long at all, hmm?” Autumn teased.

“That's part of the fun of coming second-- get to watch how beautiful you are when you're being worked over,” he smirked, “But it does make you eager. So. You ready?”

“ _ Very _ ,” Helvetica said vehemently, suddenly absolutely  _ craving _ their touch.

“Alright, stay just like that. I've got an idea,” Autumn sat up from next to Lucy, tugging him with her, “Lucy, can you get behind him? Yes, like that. Now put your fingers on his spine.”

Lucy was slow, alternating between touching the edges of his bones and dragging his fingers in the space between his ribcage. Strange how empty space could have so  _ much _ in it. Wherever there was absence, there was presence, some phantom sensation making itself known.

His body remembered his heart too, when Autumn breathed into it, crawling her fingers along his stomach inside him. He kissed her then, with whatever part of him could still control his limbs.

It felt like the sensation was everywhere, that it wasn't inside him or confined by any part what remained of his body that he could see. The  _ feeling _ was everywhere, connecting him to  _ her,  _ connecting him to  _ him. _

Then suddenly the heat in his bones overtook him, and he gasped out, shaking and breathing against the last sparks of pleasure teased out from the base of his spine. For a moment, he swore his toes had the softness of flesh over them, curling into the mattress.

Then it was just his bones, his breath, and the arms holding him tight.

“Good?” Autumn asked eagerly.

“ _ So _ good,” he managed, letting Lucy manuever the three of them into resting against the pillows, Helvetica between them.

Helvetica turned to kiss each of them on the cheek, “You two are so good.”

Autumn blushed, “No, you!”

Lucy just smiled distantly, didn't protest or agree. But he squeezed Helvetica's arm, and in the soft lamplight seemed as happy as he'd ever been.

Helvetica was happy too. They were all here.

“I don't feel any different, you know. But I also can't stop smiling, but that's always the same when I'm with you two,” Autumn ruminated, nudging her head into Lucy's shoulder.

“I think that might just be what being in love is like,” Helvetica laughed a bit, remembering something, “Till death do us part?”

“Well,” Lucy said, smiling as he shook out a cigarette from his pants pocket, “I'm guessing it's going to take a lot more than that to keep us apart.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudoes are welcome as always! Don't actually kinkshame me though like-- that's rude ;)


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